The present invention relates to the treatment of mouth and throat irritations and particularly to formulations for oral rinsing and methods therefor.
Sore throat, laryngitis, mouth and throat ulcers, excessive mucus and other mouth and throat irritations typically accompany common colds, influenza and like ailments and, as is well known, no cure or dependable preventative exists for such ailments. In recent years, Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) has come into routine and widespread dietary use as an alleged preventative or mitigant of the common cold, influenza and their manifestations. Although Vitamin C is known to be an essential nutrient in the human diet helping to maintain the integrity of connective tissues, the osteoid tissue of bone and the dentin of teeth, its precise mechanism of action in the human body is unknown and no accepted medical proof as yet exists for the claimed preventative effect on colds and influenza of the regular ingestion of Vitamin C. When a cold or influenza is contracted, mouthwashing and gargling is an accepted treatment for the accompanying symptoms and various commerical mouthwashes and gargles are available for this purpose. In this latter regard, it is also known that a simple aqueous solution of common table salt (sodium chloride) may be used as a mouthwash and gargle for the treatment of such cold symptoms.
Apart from the mouth and throat irritations symtomatic of colds, inflammation of the supportive tissues of the teeth typically accompanies periodontal disease which may result in the loosening and loss of teeth and, in fact, periodontal disease now ranks as the major cause of the loss of teeth in adults of middle age and older. Relatively little is known of the particular mechanism by which this disease develops and progresses, but the formation of plaque on the teeth in the region of the supportive gum tissues, particularly the gingival crevises, is known to cause inflammatory reactions with attendant swelling, redness, cellular exudate and bacterial growth, and it is generally considered such conditions are necessary for the development of periodontal disease. Historically, the only conventionally recognized aid in preventing periodontal disease is the maintenance of a regular routine of oral hygiene, particularly periodic toothbrushing and the use of dental floss to remove food particles and plaque from between the teeth and below the gum line. However, with the introduction in recent years of water irrigation devices adapted to produce a stream of water for use in flushing around the teeth and gums, water irrigation has been proposed and come into use as a method of preventing periodontal disease.
While Vitamin C and mouthwashes have in the past been conventionally understood to have separate and distinct uses in differing manners in the avoidance of common colds, Vitamin C being considered to be useful as a cold preventative when regularly ingested and metabolized by the body and mouthwashes being considered to be a useful oral treatment of various cold symptoms when contracted, it has now been discovered that an aqueous solution of a mixture of Vitamin C or its related compound erythorbic acid (isoascorbic acid) and common table salt or another similar salt is of significant effectiveness as a mouthwash and gargle in the prevention, treatment and relief of mouth and throat irritations resulting from colds. Additionally, although ordinary water is primarily recommended for use in mouth irrigation, it has been discovered that such an aqueous solution may be advantageously employed with conventional water irrigation devices as a flushing medium effective to remove plaque, prevent its formation and generally promote the health of the supportive tissues of the teeth. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a formulation of one or more such acid and salt components which is suitable for appropriate regular use as an oral rinse, either by mouthwashing, gargling or mouth irrigation, to aid in the prevention, treatment and relief of colds, influenza and certain of their symptoms, and in the prevention and treatment of periodonal disease and the promotion of periodontal health.